Preparation of livestock feeds



15 adapted-for 'use in'tlfe*manuzfaeture f live- Patentecl May 26, 1931UNITE-"DI stares CHARLES RQ-MABEE, OEFVI'JJTGRIA'; ONTARIO, CANADA,ASSIGNOR, BY. MESNEASSIGN MENTS, TO CHARLES HI; DQNALDSON, ,OFIBUFZEALO,NEW YORK PREEARATIONt OF LIvESTOGK FEEDS I 'No' Drawing.

. POSitlGHS -atltPt-GdifOI useini accordance therer with, andjinclude'scorrelated improvements and'discoveriesswhereby there may be pr0-= ducedamat'eria'lhavinga high feeding value;-

a This application'is in part: a [continuation of my co -pending:application: Serial Ne.

385565; filed Junes2Q 1925;

An object of the invention isto provide-an improved process whereby farmroughage may readily and economically be. converted into an appetizing,nouris'hingand -easily-.di-.

gested feeding; materiali Anothen obfect .is-to-providea comp ositio-nstock feeds whereby thes flavor, food value and. digestibility "of. farm@roughage :may be enhanced.

Qtherobjects: of the invention will in; part beieobvious and willin-part appear herein- 7 after;

The. invention a accordingly comprises the several steps and the trelation and 5 order: of oneor merezof-such stepsrwithtrespectto each"of: the :othersrtliereof; and a composition of:

matter possessingithe: characteristics;iprops erti'esand relation of.constituents,- wh'ich be hereinafterreXempl-ified 3311f]. the-scope ofthe: application: of which? will :beindicatedain the claimsa For afuller understanding "of: thernature andobjects of the invention'referenceshoul'd behad' to the followingdetailed 'deseriptionexemplifyingthe invention: 2

' It'is' often desired to employ-farm roughas alivestocl feed because ofthe*rela'-' tively low cost thereof and because: of the health-givingconstituents contained therein. The quantity of digestible nutrients infarm roughage,-liowever, .is, .as. a. rule, icoinpara= tively small,and,. accordingly, the present 111-.

vention is directed-to a process whereby the. more. complex. components.of the. roughage Application filtermm 11,

1926. SerialiNZo; 115,233;

may be 'convertedeasily and/rapidly into mas; terlziiils. which arereadily assimilableby live:- stoc In ordentofa-cilit'ate the storage andtrans;

'portation of: the roughage when it [is to be utilized'either. atzatimeor. place removed from the'time or place of production, and to prevent.the. decay; of the materials and the development of I fungoid growths,it is pref? erable to dry the roughage and to maintain thesame in a dry.state .upto the time. of

treatment.

The. invention contemplates: subjecting farm roughage, such as hay;threshedand 1m: threshed. straws, clover cornstalks and the, like, to atreatment wherein inherent land/or added ferments are utilizedinjthepresence of moisture to convert thesame into a feed ing material havingan enhancedfiamr; gestibility and nutritive value in the p resence ofone or more convertermaterials whereby the fermentative activity isaccelerated and supplemental conversion of" the 1 roughage produced, andalso the provision of a1converter composition especially adapted to.such treatment: g

Theconverter may: comprise 0118101 more mineral substances,- andpreferably includesmagnesia, lime, common" saltgancl. sulphur; howevereither oi flooth of-the la st-men-tioned ingredients may be-@omi-ttecl'if desired; or either the magnesia or li1nepreferabl-y theformer-maybe u-sed alone, or in combina I 5 tion with salt and/ orsulphur. In certain instances, and-especiallywhen-the particularroughage employed 7 is low in inherent fer-- men-ts, it isdesirable alsoto add to-the roughage one or more ferment-containing: aga n-ts, such asdiastatic malt, yeast, materials containing lactic bacilli, andfermented cereal products. The: particular. ferment-containing agentemployed will depend upon the conditions in each particularcase.as,-,.forr example, the type of. roughage treated anclthe 7 of bone,cartilage,teeth, muscle, and the like class of animals to be fed. It isoften desir able, moreover, to include as a constituent,

in the animals fed, and in the case of poultry an increase in strengthof the shells ofthe eggs produced.

Benzaldehyde, (the essential oil 6f bitter almonds) may also be added tothe roughage in order to impart an improved flavor to the prepared feedas well as to promote digestion.

This material not only magnifies the naturalflavors of the roughage andcounteracts unpleasant fiavors and-odors, glvmg to the feed I a uniformflavor which possesses an appeal for domestic animals, but also servesto prevent putrefactlon. In this connection itwill be observed thatseveral of the converter materials outlined above, for example, malt,

yeast flour, and sodium chloride and calcium hydrate, as well asbody-building materials, namely, the phosphatesof calcium, and bonemeal, are well adapted toserve as vehicles for benzaldehyde when thesame is to be transportedor stored. Accordingly, benzaldehyld e may bereadily included in a converter com? position prepared forjsubseq uentuse. It will be appreciated, however. f that the benzaldehyde need notbe introduced with the converter materials, but maybe added to the'herent in theioughage' or roughage either before, during orafter theconversion. treatment. The proportion of benzaldehyde employed will, ofcourse, depend upon the requirements in a particular case, but sin'ce arelativelysmall quantity of this material is sufiicient to give thedesired flavor tothe feed, and inasmuch as .benzaldehyde in aconcentrated form has a pronounced antiseptic action, it is desirablethat the quantity of benzaldehyde employed besuificiently small whencompared with the quantity of roughage treated so that the benzaldehydewill neither givetoo'strong a flavor to'the feed nor inhibit the actionof the iermentsin- ,the fe'rments included in the converter.

As" an exemplification of converter compositions, such as may beemployed in accordance with the invention, mention may be 7 made of thefollowing Ewample 1 8 parts of magnesium hydrate; 6 parts of calciumhydrate; parts ofsodium chloride; 2 parts of sublimated sulphur.

wample I? I One part of processed sweet clover may be included in eachof the foregoing composi tions; and f th of one part ofbenzaldehyde mayalso be added. v It will be'appreciated that the lined above may bevaried considerably in accordance with therequirements of theparticular'cas'e; For example from 7 to 20 parts of the lime-magnesiacomponent andfrom ofl part to 3 parts of sulphur, and from 30 .mixture'of calcium and proportions .of the varlous-mater als in the examplesout;

to 80 parts of common salt have been used- 7 with satisfactory resultsOne part of a composition, such as exemplified above, ordinarilysufli'ces for the treat ment of approximatelyBO parts of roughage.'While the invention is applicable. to the treatmentof coarse crops outprior to maturity, ithas been found that the best resultsaresecurediwhen the treatment is applied to roughage'which has beenallowed toripen before cutting. g

' Preferably the roughage to be treated is comminuted as by clipping thesame into short lengths. Thisis particularly desire able when thecoarser type of :roughageis employed. In the treatment of dry roughageit isdesirable to add thereto sufiicient water,

the figures glven.

In the practice of the :inventionroughage istreated with theconvertermaterial or com: position, which may be admixed with water insuitable proportions, and the admixture.

thus formed applied tothe roughage. Preferably a quantity of theroughage to be p treated is immersed ina bath'ofthe adnn'X- ture for afew minutes, allowed to drain,-and

deposited in a suitable container. Assuccessive quantities of'mater'ialare so deposited rsovgoaa the mass may be packed suitably, asby being tramped upon. The roughage so prepared may then be subjected tothe conversionreaction for a suitable period of time, ordinarily forfrom twelve to seventy-two hours, and

preferably for from thirty-six to forty-eight 7 hours when an unheatedmoistening medium is employed, duringwhich timethe tempera-- ture willusually have risen from 150 F. to 175 F., and the conversion reactionswill have transformed -the roughage into a feed having the desiredassimilability, palatability I, and nutritive value.

The container employed is preferably in the shape of a tube open at bothends, such, for example, as exemplified in the patent to Charles R.Mabee, No. 1,585,931, dated May 25,1926, (on the application Serial No.38,439,

filedJune 20, 1925), or in the application of Charles R. Mabee,co-pending herewith, Serial No. 437,308, filed January 14, 1921, and thecontinuation thereof, Serial No. 49,236, filed August 10, 1925. Othertypes of container may be employed, however, or the container may bedispensed with entirely. For

example, if it is desired to permit the ready access of air to theroughage during the treatment, there may be employed either a forami- 1nate container, such as may be formed of wire mesh, as exemplified inthe copending application Serial No. 115,232 of Charles R. Mabee, filedherewith, or a mass of roughage may be bound together in any othersuitable manner as by the formation of bales.

It will be understood, of course, that the mode of procedure may varyfrom that set forth above. For example, the roughage may be packedinacontainer while in a dry state, and the admixture poured or sprayed"thereon; the converter materials and the water may be applied to theroughage separately, warm water may be utilized; or, heat and/oradditional pressure may be applied during the processing.

While the exact reactions set up by the use of the converter materialsare not definitely known, it is believed that they serveto promote thefermentative activity perhaps directly, or it may be througlran increasein the heat of. the roughage under treatment and also to effect a changein the cellular structure or in the molecular composition of the roughage in such .manner as to render the same more assimilable, nutritiousand palatable.

The use of a converter, such as outlined above, renders possible theproduction of prepared roughage which may be used for feeding almost alltypes of domestic animals. For example, it has been used with excellentresults in the feeding of horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Theanimals find the feed palatable and eat the same readily even when noflavoring agent is employed. The animals fed increase markedly inweight, and in the case of cows a milk yield of better "ing claims areintended to cover all of the generic and specific featuresof theinvention herein described, and all statements of the scope of theinvention which as amatter of language might be, said tofalltherebetween. Having described my invention, what- I claim as; new'anddesire to secure toLetters Patent, is: y I

1. In the artof producing an improved livestock feed by the fermentativeconversion of farm roughagein a moist condition, the

process which comprises subjecting the roughage to fermentative activityin'the presence-of a medium which-beneficially influences the conversionof the roughage, said I medium comprisingan oxygen containing I compoundof magnesium.

"2. In the art:- of producing an improved 9 livestock feed-by thefermentat-i've conversion ofa-farm-roughage in a moist condition, theprocess fwhic'h comprises subjecting the roughage to fermentativeactivity in'the presence of a medium which beneficially in fiuencestheconversionof the roughage, said medium. comprising magnesium hydrate.

\ In the art .of producing an improved livestock feed by'thefermentative conversion ofi farm roughage-in a moist condition, theprocess which comprises subjecting the roughage tofermentativeactivityin the presence Fof a medium which-beneficially influences theconversion of theroughage, said inediumlcomprising magnesium hydrate andcalcium hydrate. V 1 V V 4. Inthe art ofjproducing an improvedlive-stock feed by the' fermentative conversion' of: farm: roughage; amoist condition,

the process which comprises subjecting-the roughage to fermentativeactivity in the presence of a medium which beneficially in: fluences-theconversion of the roughage,-sa1d ine'diumscomprising magnesium hydrate,cal i cium hydrateand sodium chloride.

' 4. In the art of producing animproved livestock feed: by theferi'nentative conversionfloff farm roughage in a moist condition, theprocess which comprises subjecting the roughage to fermentative activityin the presence-of a medium which beneficially infiuences the conversionof the roughage, said medium comprising magnesium hydrate, calciumhydrate, sodium chloride. and sulphur; .6, In the art of producing animproved livestock feed by thefermentative conversion of farm roughageina moist condition", the? process which comprises Inoiste'nin'g a mass ofdry, ripe, farm roughagewithan unheated water admixture of a compositionY containing from 17 to 20 parts of a substance i comprising substantialquantities, of calcium hydrate and magnesium hydrate, from 30 to 80parts of sodium chloride, and fromqonehalf oil to 3 parts of sulphur,and subjecting j the moistened roughage to fermentative ac- 5 tivity forfrom approximately 36 to 48 hours.

7. In the art of producing an improved livestock feed by thefermentative conver- I sion of farm roughage in a moist condition, theprocess which comprises moistening a massof dry farm roughage with aWater adfao' i tymixture of a composition containing mag nesium hydrate,calcium hydrate, sodium chloride, sulphur'and malt, and subjecting themoistonedroughage to fermentative ac- 8. In-the art of producing an,improved livestock feed by the fermentative' conversion of farm roughagein a moist condition, the process which comprises moistening so about8000 parts of farm roughage with a Water admixtureof a compositioncontaining' about 15 parts ofa mixtureof magnesium and calciumhydrates,about70 parts' of sodium chloride, about 2 parts of sulphur,and about 10 parts of malt, and subjecting the moistened roughage tofermentative aclJlYlty. I gj ,9;Inthe artof'pmducing anoimprovedlivestock feed by the fermentative conversion of farm roughage in amoist condition, theprocess which comprises subjecting the roughage tofermentative activity for from approximately 12 to 7 2 hours in thepresence of diastase and of a mediumwhich beneficially influences theconversionof the roughage, said medium comprising magnesium hydrate.

j 10. A composition for use in a process. for the fermentativeconversion of farm roughage, comprising magnesium hydrate, calciumhydrate, sodium chloride andjsulphur 11; v In. the art of {producing animproved livestock feed by thefermentative conversionof farm roughageina moist condition,

the process which comprises subjecting the roughage. to fermentativeactivity in the presenceof medium which beneficially in fiuences theconversion of the roughage, said 7 medium comprising a lime-magnesia component. v r 'Intcstimony whereof I aflix my signature;v r Y LCHARLES R.v f

